Riga, 24 April 2015. On 21-23 April in Jūrmala experts from the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL) discussed the issues on road traffic safety, as well as the results of the pan-European speed enforcement marathon which took place on 16 April.

Ms Ellena Townsend from the European Transport Safety Council pointed out that the aim is to work together in order to reduce the number of road traffic accidents by 50% by 2020. In 2014, 27 500 people died on EU roads.

During the TISPOL road traffic seminar, experts shared examples of best practice from the EU Members States’ traffic police forces and set out further TISPOL action plans and priorities to improve road traffic safety and to reduce the number of people seriously injured and killed on European roads.

TISPOL President Mr Aidan Reid emphasised four main priorities: to reduce the number of speeding cases, including driving style that does not comply with weather or road conditions; to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs through the implementation of appropriate control measures; to promote seat belt use not only for the persons sitting in front, but also for passengers in the back; to eradicate divided attention while driving — when the driver is doing other things, for example, using smart devices, thus not being able to pay full attention to the road.

Chief of the State Police of Latvia Mr Ints Ķuzis underlined that Latvia has been an active member of TISPOL for five years. During the TISPOL seminars, it is important to learn from the experience of other countries and adopt best practices related to traffic safety issues, thus making our roads safer.

Mr Anrijs Matīss, Latvian Minister for Transport, admitted that the implementation of new technologies is the most effective way of improving road traffic safety, however the final result depends on the behaviour of road users, therefore, no less important is raising their awareness about road safety.

Ms Evika Siliņa, Parliamentary Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of the Interior, stressed that for road safety it is essential both to improve road infrastructure and to seek state-of-the-art technology solutions for speed checks it is also essential to control whether the drivers are not under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive substances. No less important is an appropriate penalty policy, and Latvia will introduce changes on this matter, because in comparison to other EU countries Latvia has one of the lowest penalties for road traffic offences.

On 22-23 April, the TISPOL Council and Operational Working Group analysed the results of the first pan-European speed enforcement, assessed its effectiveness and brought forward proposals for further such activities at European level. TISPOL members decided that it is necessary to continue organising such marathons not only to conduct speed checks but also address other issues.

The road traffic seminar is part of the STRIDER Project (Solutions to Reduce Serious Injuries and Death on European Roads) whose aim is to reduce the number of people seriously injured and killed on European roads.